Not Always the Last
by bellspirit
Summary: The Doctor tries to make right with the kiss situation in Day of Moon. How far will he go for River Song? ONESHOT


**Oh my goodness I know I haven't updated any of my stories in forever and I probably won't for a long due to lack of inspiration and lack of time but I was definitely inspired last night while watching Doctor Who. The Doctor and River are my favorite pairing and I felt so bad for River at the end of last night's episode. So obviously I wrote a stroy about it.**

"There's a first for everything," the Doctor says as he gets back into the TARDIS. Even though he closes the doors, he can still hear River whisper.

"And a last time." He could always hear her. Even when she wasn't talking he could hear her. What had he done? She loved him and he barely knew who she was. He must have broken her heart. When she sees him in her future she must have been filled with sadness but was very good at hiding it. Knowing that someday, he wouldn't even know who she was.

An idea hit him. The perfect idea. Something that would make River Song happy until the day she died, but even then, she would be happy.

He waited for Amy and Rory to go to bed. This was something personal and they didn't need to know about it. He set the coordinates for stormcage, right after River returns there on the night of Amy and Rory's wedding. He looks at the scanner. Ah, he was a bit early, no matter, that just made it better.

He stepped out of the doors as River teleported into the hall outside of her cell.

She grabbed hold of the bars and stared at them. She had almost told the Doctor who she was to him. It was very tempting but she managed not to tell.

"River," she turned around and saw the Doctor standing outside of the TARDIS.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I'm making things better," he explained. River had a confused look on her face. "Do you remember all the months ago after I dropped you off here after defeating the Silence?" she nodded. How could she forget? "And you kissed me and found out that I had never kissed you before?" She nodded again. "I know you don't think I heard you, but I heard you say that that would be your last time. And I'm sorry for how I must've made you feel. You knew the next time that you saw me, that I wouldn't know that you loved me. And I've come to make it better."

"How?" she asked him.

He smiled at her and gently put his hand on her cheek. "Like this." He leaned down and kissed her. She was caught off guard but she realized quickly and began to kiss him back. She wrapped her arms around him as he ran his fingers through her hair.

As they pulled apart River was smiling, "Thank you, Doctor."

"My first doesn't always have to be your last," he told her. He gave her a hug. "You'll see me again. Don't feel discouraged, I was still trying to figure out who you were." He walked back to the TARDIS and waved at her before he opened the doors and stepped inside.

River watched as the TARDIS disappeared.

Back in the TARDIS the Doctor was hastily entering new coordinates, his job wasn't done yet. He made the TARDIS silent and invisible. He looked at the scanner. Yes, he had gotten the right coordinates. He was on the ship that had taken River from the Aplan Temple. She was alone in the tiny room. He stepped out of the TARDIS. She saw him right away.

"Hello, Sweetie," she says. "Have you come to see me again just after I've said goodbye to you?"

"Of course I have, I didn't want to leave you with a me that doesn't know who you are." He explained to her. "So tell me, how was it?"

"Fun and dangerous as always," River tells him. "And they've told me that I've been pardoned. Now I can finally work on becoming a professor, like you said I'd be. But let's talk about you, by the looks of it, you've only just seen me teleport back to stormcage, am I right?"

"Of course you are," the Doctor said.

"So you're just going to go around kissing future mes so I won't feel lonely?"

"That's the plan," he said as he winked at her.

"Now I feel like I'm being used," she teased the Doctor.

"It's for your own benefit," he said in a sing song voice.

"I know, now come and undo these handcuffs; I'm starting to lose the feeling in my wrists."

The Doctor soniced her handcuffs. Once she was free she practically jumped into his awaiting arms. She grabbed his face and kissed him with all the passion she could muster. She slid her tongue across the Doctor's bottom lip and he opened his mouth and let her in. They were like that for a few minutes before they pulled apart.

"Now," River said, "You have to go and kiss all the mes that had to deal with the past yous."

"I'm not sure when you'll see me next but if I had to guess it will be a couple of years," the Doctor explained to her. "After this, you're going to have to be really brave. And remember that no matter what happens, you have to keep fighting. You'll save the universe one day, River Song."

"Like I haven't already done that plenty of times."

'Trust me, it's going to be the biggest battle yet, but I can't say anymore, too much spoilers," he said.

"I'll be waiting for that day, Doctor, in a couple years, I'll know you're coming, but for you it'll just be a few minutes. Try not to miss me too much, Sweetie."

"I'll try my very hardest."

"One more kiss for good luck?" River pleaded.

"Eh, sure, why not?" and he gave her a quick peck on the lips before turning around running into the TARDIS.

"You always do that, don't you," River said while laughing at him.

"I'll get it someday," he said as he stood up and managed to find the doors. "Bye, River, I'll see you, um, whenever I next see you."

He punched the coordinates in for his last destination. He didn't even check the scanner this time, he was confident he had come to the right place.

When he opened the doors River was handcuffing his tenth self.

"Perfect timing, just as you knocked me out," he winced as he remembered the pain. "That really hurt."

River looked up at him and a smile spread across her face. "I was starting to think you weren't going to show up."

"And miss this day, you knew I would come," the Doctor answered. "Now come here!" he said as he opened his arms.

She left his tenth self on the floor and ran into the Doctor's arms.

"This is it, right?" she whispered into his ear. 'The day I die?"

"Yes," he whispered back. "But let me tell you," he said as he grabbed her shoulders and positioned her so that they were standing eye to eye, "that you are the most brilliant person I've ever met and I will never forget you."

"Hard to see how you'll forget when the next time I see you in your time line, you'll learn who I am," she told him.

"You never quite know with me." He said as he leaned into her.

"I think I do know," she said as she wrapped her arms around the Doctor's neck and pressed her lips to his. This was it. This was River Song's last kiss with the Doctor. As much as she wanted to be brave she couldn't help it as the tears began to cascade from her eyes.

"Don't cry, River," he whispered, "you are about to do bravest thing that anyone's ever done." He continued to kiss her. Eventually River pulled away.

"This is going to be a huge spoiler for you, but I have to tell you," River said as she stared into the Doctor's eyes. "I love you, Doctor, and I have since the day I met you."

"I know," he told her, "and you'll probably know this better than I do, but I think I love you too."

"Always makes me laugh, you do, Doctor. It's time for you to go now. You'll wake up in a few minutes," River said while gesturing to his tenth self.

"Oh, right, I forgot that I was there. Anyways, be nice to him, he'll understand soon enough," He kisses her on the forehead. "Always remember that you are brilliant."

She nods. "Goodbye, Doctor. It's been wonderful knowing you, but I have to go now and save the world."

"Goodbye, River Song." He stepped into the TARDIS and sent it back into the vortex. He had made things right and he knew that River would live happily in the world that CAL created for her. Maybe one day he would join her. But for now he was of to a 17th century pirate ship.

**What did you think? I obviously thought it was the most adorable thing anyone could ever do for somebody. I so can't wait until the 7th episode, that's when we're supposed to find out who she is!**

**BellSpirit**


End file.
